Concert preview: Vampire Weekend add a little bit to pop prowess

On Vampire Weekend’s first two albums the New York City prepsters cultivated an overly precious sound and image that could have sprung forth from the well-tailored imagination of filmmaker Wes Anderson. On the band’s third album, Modern Vampires of the City, however, the musicians finally come out swinging.

“The gloves are off,” sings frontman Ezra Koenig on the spiky “Step,” “[And] the wisdom teeth are out.” While the record is certainly darker — “Diane Young,” for one, is an obvious wordplay on dying young— the group hasn’t lost its touch for constructing hummable melodies. It’s just this time around the added maturity helps the songs cut significantly deeper.